Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-12-01

tAs occasion, aud the newspapers pu
me down as one Of this sharpest and
shrewdest thieves in the country. Every
lnducement was held out to re to give
away my confederates, who we're sup
posed 10 be older men anl tougher
characters, aud my inability to do il
was laid to shrcwdness and e-ve. the
only lame point with the detectives was
the fact that I was on my way into the
city when captured, aud that l was
showing myself openly and boldly. 1t
was hard to believe that robber would
hang about town with his pockets full Of
plumber, but they got over this by say
ing it was a shrewd move on my part to
throw them of the scent.
Had | acknowledged mr. identity,
Uncle Jabcz would have como on to de-
fend and clear me, but would have also
taken me back and thrashcd me within
an inch of my life. dreaded him more
than state prison, and, therefore, when
the trial came on l had nothing to say,
and was sentenced TO state prison for
three years. l was glad oft. would
Il
one would hear of me in the interval,
would have nothing to fear from my ty-
rant of an uncle.
The fact that / served only four
months of my sentence was due to the
efforts of one old detective in another
case. had forgotten to tell you that
the jeweler and two of his clerks had
''fuily identified me as "a person who
had been in the store several times just
previous to the robbery" The proprie-
tor swore that he sold me ring for So,
and one of the clerks testified on the
stand that stood for half an hour and
bartered with him about a silver watch.
''Then you positively swear he is the
persona" asked my counsel in each
case.
81 do" was the decided answer.
l could have shown that Twas twenty
five miles away at the time, and that l
had never stepped foot in Cleveland be-
fore the morning of my arrest, but, for
reasons which l have stated. / made no
effort in my own defence. went off to
prison with comparatively light heart,
knowing my own innocence. had been
a convict for four months when one day,
] was called into the Warden's office.
There were several gentlemen present,
and among them 1 recognized the Cuya-
hoga county Prosecuting Attorney and
two Cleveland detectives. The Prosecu-
tor began by declaring that I was an in
nocent man, and then asked for my
story. Under promise that they would
not betray me, I gave it to them. 1t
seems that the detective, in working on
another case, had fallen upon the jew
clry robbers and secured most of the
plunder. There were three of them, all
old hands, and the stuff found had
been lost by them as they drove out of
the city. Robbers though they were,
they did me good turn by denying that
/ had any hand in the affair. Indeed,
after the case was opened, the
detectives saw that blum
der had been made in arrest
ing me. The gentlemen had come with
pardon from the Governor, and re-
turned to Cleveland with them on the
promise of employment. To test the
value of the people at the jewelry store
as witnesses the detective took me in
there and asked if they had ever seen me
before. Four months could not have
changed me much, and yet those who
had sworn SO boldly against me on the
stand now denied having ever seen me
before. | have been detective for
years, but that circumstance has always
been uppermost in my mind when had
a case where the identity of prisoner
was to be sworn to. I have always eau
toned my witnesses not to testify unless
satisfied beyond all doubt. My caution
has several times operated to let bad
man escape the clutches Of the law, but
that was better than to swear an innocent
mans life or liberty away.
The other instance occurred in Ten
nessee just before the breaking out of
the war. I bought of the inventor the
State right of Tennessee of certain
patent, out of which I expected to
realize large fortune. I secured as
my agent in the State an Ohio man
named James Miller. had known him
for many years, and would have staked
my life on his honesty and veracity.
We visited Chattanooga, Knoxville,
Nashville, and other towns, and /
finally parted with him at Memphis. He
was to manufacture and sell through
dealers. What happened to him, how
ever, occurred in the northern part of
the State near Clarksville. He had
been dealing with somebody in that
town, and then hired horse and buggy
to go out seven or eight miles into the
country to look at a horse with view
of buying. As he was leaving the hotel
a buyer of horses and mules named
Charles Sweet asked to go with him,
and offered to pay half the expense of
the rig. The offer was accepted, and
the two drove away.
Several incidents occurred during that
ride. They were not a mile out of
Clarksville when the horse SHE'D to one
side and almost upset the buggy, and
Sweet, in saving himself from falling
out, suddenly elevated his elbow and
hit Miller on the nose, causing it to
bleed. Several drops stained his shirt
bosom, and others fell upon the buggy
cushion. A mile further on the horse
baked at hill, and Miller descended
from the buooy and coaxed him until he